


Seen by Her Eyes

by SpicyHarmony



Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:54:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26686987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpicyHarmony/pseuds/SpicyHarmony
Summary: She fell slowly, and then all at once. A tale seen through the eyes of Leah Clearwater as she embarks on a journey where she finds herself, her happiness, her purpose and her love.
Relationships: Leah Clearwater/Carlisle Cullen
Comments: 12
Kudos: 37





	1. Current State of Affairs

**Chapter 1- Current state of affairs**

If someone has the luck to grow old and gray, they tend to look back at their lifetime and reflect on what went wrong, what went right and all the missed opportunities in between. Of course, some people aren’t that lucky. They are taken from this world too soon to even think about reflecting.

Or you could end up being stuck in a never aging, mythical shapeshifters body. And also happen to be the only female among the other supernatural shapeshifters, in a pack of teenage misfits, chosen and deemed competent enough by their ancestors to protect their tribe.

Any guesses as to which scenario applies to Leah Clearwater?

Sitting on her ex-fiancé and ex-best friend/cousin’s worn out leather couch, listening to the aforementioned pack(s) of teenage misfits argue about who can beat who in “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” Leah wonders why she didn’t just let those Royal vamps end her misery when she had the chance. Not that she actually wanted to die, but seriously, whatever the Volturi could have done to her in that almost-war seems preferable to Emily trying to slide her a muffin every 5 minutes, Sam throwing her anxious/guilty looks every 2 minutes and wanting to punch Paul for existing literally every second.

_Geez, I know I have anger issues,_ thought Leah, _but at least I don’t have a vein popping out of my neck every time a 13-year-old chooses rock and beats me._

Looking over at Brady covering Paul’s hand with paper beats rock, and Embry having to calm Paul down, Leah wonders again how she got here. How did these idiots become her constant? Why did their ancestors give _her_ the gene to explode into a wolf when no other female in the Quileute tribe’s history had ever been before?

She has asked around, of course. She always did like a scientific abnormality, even if this abnormality is literally her life. The elders have their opinions. Old Quil says that Leah shouldn’t question these things. That the ancestors have their reasoning and that to look into why she changes and to think on it negatively is ungrateful and disrespectful. He always was a old fart, Old Quil. Billy Black thinks it’s because this time around, the vamps came in numbers we couldn’t fathom (thanks Bella Swan-Cullen), increasing the number of wolves that were needed. To which Leah pointed out that that’s all fine and dandy until you think about the fact that neither of Billy’s daughter’s, Rachel or Rebecca shifted. Granted, Rebecca is living it up in Hawaii, but what about Rachel? She is the chief’s daughter. But nope, she got to be an imprintee, which in retrospect is worse considering her soul mate is _Paul_. Even though Paul does have abs for days.

The point being is that no one really knows why Leah is the only person with a vagina that the Quileute gods decided was “worthy enough to be a protector,” (Sam’s words, the spaz).

_Pfft, worthy my ass. Quil literally has ketchup falling down his chin and they expect me to believe that being chosen as a wolf means you’re special. Ha!_

“Leah, Leah? Hey Leah…YO! Earth to the beta of _my_ pack who is _supposed_ to be paying attention and _not_ embarrassing me in front of the other pack?!” Jake, Jacob Black that is (Alpha Prime as she calls him in her head), is currently looking at her as if he caught her with her hand in a cookie jar. As if she wasn’t paying attention to the “very important” meeting about treaty lines and patrols they have _every week_. How dare he look at her like that? Okay, so she wasn’t paying attention, but he doesn’t know that for sure!

“Me? Oh, I’m embarrassing you? Jake, Quil is wiping his face with Sam’s underwear.” Leah smirked, looking as Jake’s eyes widen and sure enough the “Quil Ateara! I JUST WASHED THOSE” from Emily as she runs to swat him over the head makes all the guys cringe. Seth is doubled over in laughter next to him and as Leah looks at his happy face, a wave of affection runs through her. She is grateful that she can be a wolf with her baby brother.

_At least being what I am allows me to be with Seth and protect him._

“Besides,” Leah continues, “None of this stuff is new. I mean no offense you guys, well, actually, all the offense to you, Sam,” to which Sam just rolls his eyes, “but we do this every week. We all get together, the pups fight, I sit in a corner and bitch, Jake and Sam have a pissing contest and nothing changes. There aren’t any immediate threats from unknown bloodsuckers that we know of. Jake, Nessie is safe. Can’t we all just take a relax a little?”

The pack stares, Jared looks over at her with a smirk of approval. No doubt he was also getting tired of the pointless pack meetings as well, wanting to spend more time with Kim.

“Well, Leah, we have to make sure everyone is on the same page. Since Jake and I are running separate packs, we need to ensure that we have open communication in case something happens” Sam answers back, crossing his arms the way he always does when he’s annoyed, no doubt because she alluded to the fact that they all have to sit on the sidelines every week as he and Jake compare whose muscles are bigger (Jake does).

“Yeah come on Lee, we need to be able to make sure that everyone is up to speed. Not everyone is as good as you with keeping up with the patrol schedules. Some of the guys need extra help” Jake adds in, eyeing Quil who was still rubbing the back of his head. “Besides, don’t act like ya don’t like hangin’ out with us.”

The big goof ball then proceeds to plop down next to her on the sofa, throw one arm around her shoulder and takes a huge bite of his muffin, ensuring all of the crumbs fall onto the front of her shirt.

“Ugh, Jake! I swear you need to be house trained!” Trying to scoot away from him but failing as he has her locked in his freakishly strong Alpha grip, Leah furthers her point, “And anyways, not to tell you guys how to do your “Alpha-ing” but have you ever heard of a cell phone? Group chats are a thing, ya know. The pixie lookin leech showed me this really cool app on my phone! I mean seriously, it could save a lot of- JACOB BLACK, IF YOU DON’T STOP DROPPING YOUR MUFFIN CRUMBS ON ME I SWEAR TO ALL-”

Jake decides his life is precious and releases her. He goes into dust the crumbs of the front of her shirt but the glare Leah gives him freezes his hand inches from her right boob. He slowly inches his hand back because Leah assumes he likes all of his limbs attached to his body.

“As I was saying-”

“Look Leah,” Paul, of all people decides to interrupt, “It’s not like ya got shit to do anyways. Why do you care if we have a meeting every week?”

Ugh. And they wonder why he can’t be taken out into public.

“Actually, _Paul_ , I think if we reduce the pack meetings to once a month, and cut down patrol times it could actually benefit everyone and give _everyone_ more chances to do other things rather than be up each other’s asses all the fucking time” Leah knew she was getting heated but dammit, Paul instigates her on purpose.

Before Paul could further irritate her however, Embry jumps in, “Why do you think we should cut patrol hours?”

His question is genuine and so Leah answers without any of her previous heat, “Well, I’m willing to pick up more shifts if we’re really that worried about dangers but…” Leah stutters, shooting a glance at Seth, “I think we should cut the hours for the younger kids,” Now she looks to Sam and Jake both, who are thankfully both listening to her intently, “I mean, they shouldn’t have to be patrolling around in the middle of the night. We should give them a chance to go to school. I mean, Seth and Colin and Brady definitely need to go back and properly apply themselves. Quil and Embry can go back to graduate, they are only missing a few credits. And even you Jake, if you wanna....” Leah trails off, looking at Jake expectantly.

Jake looks at her, a soft gaze in his eyes. She knows Jacob’s affection for her as a friend and pack sister has only grown since she left Sam’s pack for him, and stood by his side against the Royal leeches, but it still makes her uncomfortable when he shows it in front of the rest of their pack, and Sam’s pack. She has a reputation to uphold, after all.

“You make some good points Leah. Jake what do ya say we talk over the details and we can discuss the patrol hours? I see no harm in switching some stuff around and maybe everyone can get less hours, not just the kiddos.” Sam says, giving Leah a look of pride that she internally scoffs at. Damn, one whole meeting without have a bitch fit and suddenly she’s both Alpha’s favorite she-wolf.

“Sounds good to me. Yo!” Jake bellows to get everyone’s attention again “Anyone willing to take a couple of extra shifts a week, let us know so we can try to get the pups less hours. We can alternate. We’ll talk about it in _next week’s_ meeting.”

Leah groans. Getting up from the couch she decides not to argue the point. Cutting the youngers kids hours is a win at least, and maybe it will loosen them up to the idea of reducing pack meetings. Stretching her arms and legs which have been sore from sitting so long, Leah tries to make a beeline for the front door before Emily tries to do something grotesque, like _talk,_ but as she approaches her escape, Sam calls “Won’t you be staying for lunch Leah?”

Sighing Leah turns around to face them all, her boys. She sees Sam giving her a hopeful expression and she desperately wishes he wouldn’t do that. She has come a long way from spewing hateful words every time she sees him, but she is still so far from sitting with him and Emily, eating and singing Kumbaya. She hates his hurt expression when she says, “No thanks. I have plans already.”

“Watcha doing sis?” asks Seth while piling a mountain of potatoes on his plate.

She sees the Packs look at her curiously, Jake even quirking an eyebrow at her. So what? She can have plans! She does have a life outside of them. Honestly.

“Well if you must know, I’m going to get a dog!”

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He always valued beauty. He was a collector after all. For millennia his life has been dedicated to finding the most precious jewels and adding each of their rare qualities into his rank. His guard. His prizes. Lately his endeavors have been eluding him. He has been unsuccessful. But no matter. Not again, never again. She will be his prize, a most perfect pet.

The only one of her kind. Unique.

_Mio caro Leah._


	2. Heartfelt Tones and Shatter Bones

Chapter 2- Heartfelt Tones and Shattered Bones

“Who’s a good boy?! Who’s the goodest booooy in the whole wide world? Who’s my handsome snuggly wuggly poooooo?! Ahh that’s right baby you are!”

Riding in the passenger seat of Jake’s Rabbit on their way back from Port Angeles, Leah was currently cuddling her new puppy, who had yet to be named. She had asked Jake politely (and threatened his capability to produce children one day when he initially refused) to take her into the city in order for her to pick up the baby Corgi she had seen on the internet the day before. She was contentedly stroking his head while trying to think of the perfect name…

Hmmm. What about Ollie? Or Dixon….Rolli?

“Honestly Lee, do you really think getting a dog was the best move right now?   
I mean we’re just about to rearrange the patrol schedules and you offered to pick up shifts for the younger kids.” 

Jake was driving the car and Leah thought he had a lot of audacity asking that question for someone who had a half vampire hybrid as a pet- well, imprint. 

“Honestly Jacob, do you really think your brain can handle driving and talking at the same time?” Leah shot back though she was sure that any bite in her tone was useless while getting licks on her cheek from her new puppy, “Besides, my baby needed me. I mean just look at him!”

Grabbing him under his front legs and turning the full force of the adorable face towards Jake, Leah watched as the almost 7 foot Alpha of a pack of wolves melted at the sight of her dog lolling his tongue out.

“Plus, the Pixie said she would get me whatever I wanted as a ‘thank you’ for almost dying for Edweirdo’s and telenoBella’s freaky yet somewhat charming love-child. Gosh that family is weird, even for bloodsuckers.”

“Really? Since when are you and Alice on speaking terms?”

Turning her pup over and giving him all the belly rubs, Leah counters with, “Since when is she ‘Alice’? And since when do you want to know who I talk to? And we’re not…”

“Since I’m your Alpha and it is your duty to inform me of every aspect of your life,” Jake jokes, which earns him a smack on the back of his head which Leah was sure he did not feel, “And ‘we’re not’ what?”

“On speaking terms. Me and the Pixie. Or any of the leeches for that matter. She emailed me.”

Jacob doubles over laughing, swerves and takes the exit into Forks way too quickly. 

“Oh my gosh JAKE! THERE’S A BABY IN THE CAR CHILL OUT”

Wiping tears from his eyes, Jake says “Oookay Lee, well first of all, the Rugrat is not baby, ‘sides, he looks fine to me, and second, I can’t believe she emailed you! How did she even get your email?”

“Well he IS a baby, look at him! And she probably knew I would not interact with them, hence the email.” Leah shudders. Jacob is silent after this, so Leah goes back to scrolling through names in her head.

Caesar, Macbeth, Romeo…hmmm maybe Shakespeare is not the way to go. But ‘Shakespeare’ does have a nice ring to it.

“Hey Jake, what do ya think abou-” Leah cuts off as she turns to look at Jacob. He looks rigid in his seat and his hands were clenching the steering wheel with a little too much force.

“Everything okay Alpha Prime?” Leah asks tentatively.

“Hmm? Oh yeah Leah it’s all good,” he pauses, looking straight ahead at the road, and then, “It’s just, do you really hate them? Like seriously? I mean I know it’s like in our DNA to despise them but if this last year has taught me anything, it’s that maybe our legends don’t have it all right, ya know?”

Jacob looks to her and she sees something in his eyes that makes her pity him. Since joining his pack, Leah has come a long way from using her pack brother’s thoughts and feelings against them. The Pack’s mind link is yet another unfortunate side effect of being a shapeshifter, and while she was in Sam’s pack she had used it to her advantage to ridicule and humiliate them to the best of her ability. It was a knee-jerk reaction for having to hear and feel all Sam’s thoughts about Emily. Even worse was hearing all of Sam’s thoughts and regrets about herself. But in being a part of Jake’s pack, she has learned to block out their thoughts, as well as her own, giving them all some much needed privacy. That didn’t mean some things didn’t slip through the cracks of the walls they had all tried to create. 

While he could never resent Nessie, and while he was happy for the half-vamp’s existence, Leah knows that Jake wonders why their ancestors chose to give him an imprint so different from everyone else’s. Moreover, he worries what the others think of him, and what a burden it causes his Pack. 

Sighing, Leah cuddles her pup closer to her and looks out the window. She really didn’t think giving Jacob a pep talk was on the to-do list today, but he did take her to Port Angeles, so she figures she could try to be nice to him, just a little. 

“Look Jacob, I’m not the happiest person on the planet. Hell, I’m probably more miserable than like 67% of the world’s population,” she sees him smirk at this, “so I’m not the person to ask about holding a grudge. Especially if you’re talking about our sworn enemies.” Taking another deep sigh, Leah continues, “I will say this though. You’re happy. And despite what my attitude may otherwise indicate, that means something to me. You’re my Alpha, and my pack brother and my fr-friend.” She hesitates at this and she doesn’t have to look at him to know that Jacob’s face has broken out into the dumbest smile. Ugh. She powers on and says, “Seth adores them too. And while he can be naïve at times, I trust his judgment.”

She looks towards Jake and judging by the sheer happiness on his face, she is going to regret being nice to him. 

Damn I’m getting soft. 

“So no, to answer your question. I don’t hate them. But that doesn’t mean I want to be their friend either. They can exist and I can exist, and I will do everything in my power to help you protect them but that’s as far as I’ll go. I chose to go with you Jacob, for my own selfish reason’s yes, but it was still my choice. My loyalty is to you and our Pack and right now, you need me to look out for them. For your sake and for your imprint’s. So that’s what I’ll do.”

Leah stops, not wanting this conversation to continue. She noticed that they were parked in the driveway of their house. Her mom’s car was gone, like it usually was now a days, most likely at Charlie Swan’s place. She could hear her brother and Embry playing a video game inside. Holding the puppy more securely in her arms, she moved to open the door when she felt Jake’s hand grab her to stop her. 

Turning to tell him off for holding her back, she looks into his eyes and the sincerity she sees there stop the words in her mouth as he says, “Thank you Leah. You have no idea what that means to me. You know, Bella and the Cullen’s have been the catalyst to a lot of things in my life. It’s because of them that I even took my rightful place as Alpha. And I will always be grateful for that. Especially because it gave me the privilege of being your Alpha and becoming your friend.”

With that, Jacob pet the top of her puppy’s head and got out of the car, heading to the front door leaving behind a not-emotional and not-teary eyed she-wolf. 

Uhhhgghhh. I am really becoming soft. Stupid Jacob Black and his stupid dumb friendship. 

Looking down at her still unnamed dog, she says “Well honey, welcome to the Soap Opera that is my life.”

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TWO HOURS LATER found Leah sitting on her couch taking photos of Lancelot as Seth and Embry tried teaching him how to fetch, while Quil and Jake ate all her food. 

“You guys better leave something for Seth to eat,” She shouted back towards the kitchen, “QUIL THOSE ARE LANCELOT’S TREATS!” 

And sure enough, the big oaf was snacking on some bacon flavored kibble bites she had gotten at the pet store in Port Angeles for her puppy. 

“Really? Oh hey they don’t taste half bad,” Quil states shoving another one into his mouth. 

“Oh my god, Jake please do something before I castrate him” groans Leah, looking away from them as they enter the living room.

She hears an “Oomph” and the bag of treats lands on her lap with a “There ya go Lee” from Jake as he lays on the ground for Lancelot to climb on top of him.

“What kind of name is Lancelot anyways, Leah. You couldn’t have named him something cool, like Turbo? Or Tank?!” Quil asks, plopping down next to her and massaging his stomach where Jake must have hit him. 

Leah stares at him, annoyed, “This coming from a guy named ‘Quil’? Okaaaay. Anyways, Lancelot was a brave and loyal knight. It’s perfect.”

“Hey! My name has been in our family for generations!’

“Oh I’m sooo sorry for you guys.”

“Well I think its cute Leah! He really is the sweetest little guy. What made you decide to get him?” Seth interjects her and Quil’s argument as he tries to engage Lancelot in a game of tug-of-war with the rope toy she got him. Before she can answer however there was a knock on their front door. Embry jumps up to answer it. 

“Oh hey Sam, what’s up man?”

Sure enough, in comes Sam, all solemn and handsome just like always. Jake immediately stands, no doubt not wanting the other Alpha to see him cuddling a puppy on the floor. 

“Everything good Sam?” Jacob asks, moving forward to greet the other Alpha with the “bro hug” thing that men do. 

Sam locks his eyes with hers and Leah feels the all too familiar pit growing in the middle of her stomach. She knows what he wants before the words ever leave his mouth.

“I would like to talk with you, Leah, please. It will only be five minutes.”

All the guys in her pack look towards her, Embry looked ready to personally escort Sam out if that’s what she wanted. 

“Actually Sam, ya see I have this new puppy, Lancelot,” She points towards him zooming around her feet on the floor, “and I don’t think I should leave him alone right now. Maybe some other time?”  
“Lee-Lee, please. Just 5 minutes.”

She feels her face break, but she quickly masks the pain she felt at her old nickname. Her weakness. Reminders of her Sam. She hears Jake crack his knuckles, ready to pounce on Sam she’s sure, but sighing, she shakes off Seth’s hand that had found its way onto her shoulder, and says “Okay, just five minutes.”

Stooping down to Lancelot’s level she pets him vigorously “Okay you hear that baby, momma is going to be back five minutes. Oh who’s a good boiii!”

Leah led Sam outside, going deeper into the woods for some semblance of privacy. 

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EIGHTEEN MINUTES LATER found an ashen looking Leah standing in the front doorway of her house, “Ummm hey Jacob?”

All the boys were looking at her, shocked. Jake moved forward to inspect her closer. 

“So I think I broke my hand on Sam’s nose. It hurts, like a lot.”

Taking her arm gently in his hands, he cringes as he sees the blood dripping down her knuckles. She sees him shaking with suppressed rage, and Leah knows he is fighting to stop himself from phasing. She watches him as her grabs his keys from the coffee table and tells the still silent pack, “Quil, Embry, watch over Lancelot. Seth, you’re coming with us.”

Jacob guides Leah out the front door and into his car, as she asks, “Where are we going?”

“Well, while I drive, you’re going to explain to me why you punched Sam hard enough to shatter all the bones in your hand. And I’m taking you to see Dr. Cullen.”

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Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Still no Carlisle but he will most definitely be in the next one. Leave me a review about how excited you are about THAT! And why do you think Leah punch good ole Samuel?

XOXO


	3. Explaining Why and Charming Eyes

**Chapter 3- Explaining Why and Charming Eyes**

“-so then I decided that he needed to have his face rearranged and that’s when I punched him in the nose.”

Leah finished her story, taking a deep breath and glancing at Jacob from the corner of her eyes. She was currently in the passenger seat of his Rabbit for the second time that day, trying and-judging by the look on Jake’s face, failing- to justify punching the Alpha of the other pack. She can hear Seth silently shaking with laughter in the back seat and she wishes they could stop by the local pet shelter and drop him off as a stray. It didn’t help that her hand was throbbing painfully in her lap and she was sure it was healing while her bones were not properly aligned. Ouch.

“So let me get this straight,” Jacob starts, drawing out the words as if he’s reprimanding a two year old, “You punched Sam because he… asked you to be the god mother of his kid and asked you to rejoin his pack?”

“Of course, you would make it sound as if I blew things out of proportion!”

“Leah-  
  


“No _Alpha Prime,_ I didn’t punch him _just_ because he told me that Emily is pregnant, asked me to rejoin his pack and to be the god mother of his freaking love child with the woman he left me for, who happens to be my cousin. I punched him because of the _audacity!._ ”

‘Lee would ya just list-“

“I mean how DARE he? How could he? He all but _demanded_ I tuck my tail between my legs and haul my ass back to his second-rate pack as if he had every right to! With no care as to how it would make me feel!”

“Leah you didn’t let me fini-”

“They want to have their cake and eat it to! They want me to be their _frosting_ Jacob. And Leah Clearwater is so much more than just overly sweet frosting to the red velvet that is their life!”

“Uh sis? Maybe you should hear Jake out?”

“I mean honestly, who the fuck asks their ex-fiancé to be the fucking godmother of their fucking kid with another woman? Not to mention the complete disrespect to you, Jake. I mean asking me to come back to his pack like that. And _Emily_? What the hell is she putting in those muffins that she thinks I would just-”

“LEAH! SHUT UP! Calm down will ya? I don’t need you phasing in my car.” Jake all but Alpha orders her, effectively silencing her tirade. She looks to him again and see that while he still looks agitated, he has a small smirk on his face.

“Look Lee, I get it, okay? I don’t think you over reacted.”

“You don’t?” she asks, shocked.

“No. I probably would have reacted the same way if Bella had asked me… well you know what I mean. Sam was totally outta line and I’ll have a talk with him, Alpha to Alpha.” At this, his smirk vanishes and he’s back to glaring straight ahead.

“You don’t have to Jake. I mean, maybe I did overreact a bit. The packs are just starting to feel normal around each other. I don’t wanna create conflict, okay?”

“Leah, he shouldn’t have asked you, he knows how it would have hurt you” Seth interjects, looking angry himself, which surprises her as Seth rarely gets angry. “He has no right asking you to rejoin his pack either. I mean, you don’t see Jake going around inviting Paul or Jared into our pack.” Hmm, maybe she wouldn’t drop him off at the shelter.

“Okay squirt let’s be real here. Who in their right mind would invite _Paul-”_

“The point is Lee, while I wish you wouldn’t have punched him, mostly cause now you’re hurt, I get why ya did. Just please, next time get me or something., hmm?” Jake cuts in, pulling the to a halt in front of the Cullen mansion.

_Ugh, the mind rapist probably already filled all the others in. Nosy vamps._

“Sure sure, Alpha Prime.”

Leah steps out of the car and scrunches her nose as she is immediately is hit with a waft the sickly-sweet vampire stench. She really was going to have to put in a motion to the council to find another pack doctor. Leah found it a little humorous that only person they could go to for injuries was supposedly their smelly, mortal enemy.

“Honestly Jake, I really don’t think this is necessary. My hand feels better already. See, look!”

Leah tries to lift her hand to show Jake while it gave her another painful throb. Jake gives her a look that screamed “Who are you trying to fool Leah?”. Well then. She may or may not have stuck her tongue out at him.

Looking up towards the front door, she sees Seth disappear inside and a seven-year-old looking Renesmee Cullen dashes out of the house (mansion) with a squeal of “JAKEY,” and hops straight into Jacob’s outstretched arms. They immediate engage in a game of “Wolf chases the Hybrid.”

Rolling her eyes, Leah moves to the front door where an amused looking Edward was standing waiting to greet her.

“Leah, it’s good to see you. I hope you are doing well?” Edward examines the dried blood on her hand, and she sees him fight off a smile.

_Sure, laugh now Popsicle. I am just here for your amusement._

Edward does actually let out at al laugh and Leah has to stop herself from punching him like she did Sam. She wondered if his face was harder than Sam’s.

“Oh, it is.” Edward answers her unspoken thought like the invader of people’s privacy that he is, “Seth is eating, and I have had a chance to ‘fill in the others’ as they are currently out hunting. I stayed behind with Renesmee. Carlisle is up in his office, I did have to fill him in. Just about the broken hand, I assure you. No other details. Would you like me to escort you to him?”

“No, I -uh, I think I can manage.” Leah moves to go up the stairs of their house, feeling uncomfortable in his presence and all the information about his family that she didn’t ask to know. She pauses to look back at Edward, realizing she has no idea where exactly Dr. Vamp’s office is.

Before she can even open her mouth, Edward says “To your left, it is the last room at the end of the hall with the double doors.” She tries to proceed in her route but he catches her attention again by adding “And Leah? He deserved it.”

Leah nods her head at him with a scowl on her face and makes her way upstairs. She still finds it incredibly peculiar how much her life has changed in the past year. Punching Sam in the face. Edward Cullen trying to make conversation with her and telling her that Sam _deserved_ getting punched in the face. Seth willingly eating food in a vampire’s home. Jake, bound to bloodsuckers for eternity, by wolf magic. And even though the Cullen’s may not be her favorite people, dead or otherwise, the fact that she is even willing to roam around their house without any of her pack brothers with her is astounding.

_If my Father could see me now. He must be rolling over in his grave._

Leah sees the double doors that Edward had mentioned and listens for movement inside. She doesn’t hear anything, which doesn’t surprise her. She raises her uninjured hand and knocks.

“Come in.” She hears a deep, distinctly male voice call to her, and she has to roll her eyes. The Cullen’s did have a knack for acting so _human._ She knows he heard from the moment they pulled up in Jake’s car. He could have come down and greeted her at the door. Yet for some reason he seems keen on continuing with the human charades.

Opening the door, Leah walks into a spacious room, elegantly designed to produce the highest efficiency and productivity. A sleek desk stood in the middle, made of dark mahogany wood, with a high back table. Books were stacked neatly on top, with one open in the center of the desk. A large bookshelf that was filled to the brim with old tomes and books, some as thick as Jacob Black’s thigh, covered the entirety of the left wall. The right wall was aligned with canvases of old paintings, surrounding a full family portrait of the Cullen’s in the center. Scanning her eyes around, she notices the high ceilings, chic bohemian décor and cream-colored walls. As per usual in the Cullen estate, the far wall, right behind the desk, was completely made up of glass. Leah’s eyes finally rest on the lone inhabitant of the room and meets a pair of warm, honey colored irises.

Carlisle stood tall, with a soft smile on his face, beckoning her further into his office. He was wearing a pair of black slacks and a pale, fitted button up shirt. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and while she looked at him, she determined quite quickly that he had a calming nature about him, a quality that the rest of his family lacked. His face was every bit as deceptively beautiful as the rest of his coven’s. With high cheek bones, a chiseled jaw and shining golden hair, Dr. Cullen made a mockery of McDreamy. While he didn’t seem to immediately creep her out as much of the other vamps, he still wasn’t someone she felt comfortable with. She realizes she’s never even spoken to him before.

“Leah, please come in. Edward tells me that you are in need of my services?” His voice is smooth and melodic, breaking her out of her thoughts.

_Okay Leah, the faster he looks at your hand, the faster you can get the heck outta here!_

“Well, it depends on what your services include.”

_Oh my god. That sounded worse out loud then it did in my head._

Leah was mortified but Carlisle took it in stride, only letting out a small chuckle at her expense and motionedmher to the chair next to his desk. She sat down and as she leaned back, she saw Carlisle kneel down in front of her.

“May I?” he asks, gesturing to her hand. Leah was grateful he was being cautious enough to ask her permission, she doesn’t know how her wolf would instinctively react to having his cold hands on her.

She nods and he gently takes her hand in his, his brow furrowing as he examines the damage. Her hand hurts less but feels uncomfortable as he pokes at it.

“Soooo, what’s the verdict Doc?”

“Well, it seems to have healed but your bones have been disjointed. In order to set them properly I will need to rebreak some fingers.” He looks sympathetic as he says this, so Leah doesn’t throw the first insult that comes to her head at this. Still, maybe if she glared at him hard enough, he would find another way to fix her rather than re-breaking her freaking bones.

“You wouldn’t happen to know any bloodsuckers with the gift making people feel no pain at all, would you?” Leah finally asks, submitting to her fate.

At this he smiles, “I’m afraid not Miss Clearwater. I will be as swift as possible. I do have morphine, but I do not think it would do much for you.”

He was right, of course, along with being “gifted” the ability to become a wolf, her ancestors took away her ability to get drunk or high. Obviously, they were determined to make her life a living nightmare.

They hear a knock on the door. Carlisle affirms permission to enter and in walks Jacob, with Nessie in his arms. Seth was dragging behind with a sandwich in his hands. So, they were right on time to see her pain.

“What’s up Doc?” Jake asks, examining Carlisle who was still kneeling in front of her.

“Dr. Cullen has determined that the only way to fix my hand is to re-break my bones and I was about to tell him that I rather put the vamp-who-looks-like-he’s-on -steroid’s Jeep in neutral and run myself over with it.”

Again, Carlisle chuckles and Leah has to wonder what in the hell was so funny. She watches him annoyed as he gets up and rummages through the drawer of desk.

“Awww that sucks Leah!” Seth exclaims, taking a seat next to her on top of Carlisle’s desk, though his sympathy fails to hit the mark as he stuffs the sandwich into his mouth and practically inhales it. Ugh, men. Jacob has come up behind her and put the hand not supporting Nessie onto her shoulder. At least someone understood the pain she was about to endure. Well, maybe she could use it to guilt trip Seth into making her a sandwich.

Coming back around, Carlisle stops in front of her again and hands her a small object. Looking at, Leah sees that it is a stress ball. Incredulously, she looks up at Carlisle who has a sheepish look on his face.

“It could probably help relieve some of the pain if you squeeze while I reset your hand.” Leah stops the smile that threatens to break out on her face. She is determined not to show how charming she found him in that moment. She has a line drawn in the sand and finding a _vampire_ charming is crossing it. Plus, Jake will never let her live it down.

“Jacob,” She swivels her head and see Edward enter the room with a smirk on his dumb face, he glances at her quickly and continues to speak to Jake, “Let me take Nessie while Carlisle starts on her hand. I do not think it is appropriate she witness this.”

Taking his daughter, Edward giggles-legitimately _giggles_ \- leaving the room as Leah glares at his retreating figure, screaming in her head _NOT ONE WORD TO ANYONE CULLEN! I MEAN IT!_

She notices Jacob now has both hands on each of her shoulders, already prepared to support her as Carlisle kneels in front of her once more.

“Shall we begin?” he asks, his eyes shining at her. She nods at him.

Oh hell.


	4. Lollipops and Book Shops

**Chapter 4- Lollipops and Book Shops**

“Well, that was officially the worst experience of my life, and that’s including the time I had to sit through a night of Quil and Jared duetting the Phantom of the Opera at one of the pack bonfires.”

Leah was currently occupying Seth’s old spot atop Dr. Cullen’s desk, gently massaging her sore and rebroken-but-wolf-healed hand. It had taken forty-one minutes of screaming, cursing and crying (the latter mostly on Seth’s part) before Carlisle had mercifully announced that he was done putting her through agony.

Seth and Jacob had ditched her at around minute twenty-seven; apparently, they were able to witness vampires get ripped to shreds and burned at the stake, but they couldn’t stomach a few broken bones. Wimps. Unfortunately, this meant that she found herself once again alone with the patriarch of the Cullen family.

“Aah, not a fan of the musical I take it?” he asks, smiling as he cleans up the supplies he had needed to mend her hand.

“What? No, of course I love the Phantom. It’s my dream to go watch it on Broadway! I’m just not a fan of Quil butchering Christine’s high note, Doc.”

She notices him laughing to himself and she bounces off of the desk at that moment, ready to get the hell out of dodge.

“Well, thanks for the help Dr. Cullen. I will make a suggestion in the next pack meeting to find a more…local doctor. There’s no need for us to keep bothering you every time one of us fucks our shit up”

“I assure you Miss Clearwater; it is no trouble to me. I will take any opportunity I can to repay the Quileute wolves the debt I owe them” he pauses, taking in her now confused expression. “Both of the packs were vital in our stand off against the Volturi. I am inclined to believe that without your assistance, my family would not have survived the altercation.”

At this, he reached out his hand towards her and for one crazy moment, Leah thought he was going to hug her. But instead, he offered her something that had her guffawing.

“Really _Doctor_ Cullen? A lollipop? OOOOH, thank you, Seth is going to be soooo jealous!” she exclaims, still laughing heartily and taking the offered sucker.

“Come now Miss Clearwater! All good patients deserve a treat.” He says, grinning at her with amusement and when he looked at her with his glimmering eyes, Leah could see how women could swoon at his beauty, natural predator or not. She wonders what he was like as a human and how much of his unnatural beauty was already there before the venom gave him fangs and a killer (literally) smile.

Hmmm, maybe the Doc did give her some drugs when she wasn’t looking.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts and hoping against hope that Edward was not picking her brain for amusement, she begins to shuffle her feet, and lets out an awkward, “Well, I should probably get going. Thank you again Dr. Cullen.”

As she moves to leave, his voice stops her.

“Carlisle.”

Looking back at him, Leah falters, “Wh-what?”

_What the hell? Since when the HELL do I stutter?_

“Call me Carlisle. It is my name after all. And I would like you to take some time to return to me. I will need to take another look at your hand in a few days’ time to ensure it heals properly.” He answers with a subdued look on his face, examining her as she continues to fumble with the doorknob.

“Oh- uh yeah, okay, sure. I’ll make some time, I guess. Carlisle. And it’s Leah. You can call me Leah, not ‘Miss Clearwater.’”

Carlisle smiles at her then, and she feels herself shyly returning it.

_This is what it’s come to. Exchanging smiles and being on a first name basis with a bloodsucker. I really hate Sam Uley. Why did he have to have such a hard fucking head?!_

With that she bolts out the door, ready to be out of the weird Twilight Zone disguised as an oddly attractive vampire’s office she had found herself in.

Leah practically tumbled down the stairs, avoiding Jake and Seth who were now too busy playing hide and seek with a giggling Nessie. She tried not to be annoyed at the fact that they completely forgot that she was upstairs, facing death (well, not death per se, but it had hurt really, _really_ bad). She side-stepped a smirking Edward, shot a quick _Asshole_ to him in her head and leaped out the front door.

As soon as she was within the cover of the trees that surrounded the Cullen’s house, she stripped, tied her dress around her ankle and handed her body over to the most natural instinct in her. Her paws hit the ground with a soft thud, and she pranced away, relishing the breeze that cascaded through her silvery-grey pelt.

Leah would complain about being a wolf until the day she died, but she couldn’t ignore the fact that when she did phase, she felt _free._ She so often saw her wolf as the chain that bound her to La Push, to the mystical world she could not escape. But like this, alone, with no one else’s thoughts but her own and running at the speed of light, she knew that this was who she was meant to be. She knew that she could go anywhere and be anything, but nothing could compare to the security, comfort and purpose she felt when she was at one with her wolf. 

And it scared her.

* * *

Waking up the next morning to Lancelot’s gentle licks on her face, Leah found herself in a happy, energetic mood. She fell asleep thinking of Sam and his baby with Emily. She didn’t want them to be unhappy, of course. At one point, they were the two most important people in her life. But they’re happy, despite her unhappiness, and that was _painful_.

No matter how satisfying punching Sam in the face may have been (a thought she would make sure not to let Jacob hear), it still annoyed her to know how much he could still affect her. The piercing in her heart when she heard the words “Emily is pregnant” leave his mouth in the middle of the forest reminded her that he had moved on and was creating a whole new life without her. If she wanted to continue to do the same, she had to make the moves to do so on her own and not wait around for change to come to her.

This led Leah to the conclusion that she needed a job.

Sure, she had to patrol every other night throughout the week (tonight being one of them) but she was sure that if she asked Jake, he would try to fix something to work with any schedule she may have. Including the hours she would have to pick up to help the younger wolves get back to school. She was willing to lose a little sleep if it meant a change to the pitiful norm that was her life.

Getting a job could mean some financial independence, new clothes, and helping out her mom around the house more. Hell, maybe even eventually moving out even if she does have to stay in La Push. Plus, it means getting to spend her time in an environment that doesn’t just consist of a pack of volatile, hormone raging, teenage boys and the occasional drop in from their bloodsucking kinda-but-not-really “vegetarian” mortal enemies.

As soon as Lancelot was taken out, and had his proper nutrition for the morning, Leah got to work in researching any open listings in La Push. The only things that seemed to be listed were things that required experience, or a custodian at the local high school. Leah was trying to get away from the boys, not pick up after them at lunch time.

The Forks’ listings were much the same. A couple of nurses wanted, some city workers. As she scrolled, she saw it, a listing from 5 days ago asking for an entry level customer service rep and cashier for the local Fork’s book store, The Bookworm. Dialing the number, Leah felt her excitement building hoping the position wasn’t already filled. In her head, she saw a pair of honey colored eyes urging her on with pride. Shaking her head to clear the image, mentally tucking it away in the “DO NOT GO THERE” part of her brain that contained memories of her father’s final moments and her first kiss with a boy named Julian, Leah waited with very little patience as the phone rang in her ear.

She heard a raspy female voice answer “Thank you for calling The Bookworm, where we are sure to have a book that’ll get ya hooked. My name is Florence, what can I do for you?”

Crossing her fingers Leah responded, ‘Hi. My name is Leah Clearwater. I was just responding to the job listing I saw for your store. I would be really interested in applying if the position is still available?”

“Well Leah, the position isn’t filled yet honey. How about you make your way over to the store for an interview, say around noon?” Florence asked.

“Yes! Yes of course! I will see you then!” Leah all but squealed. After exchanging contact information, with Florence providing her with the store address, she disconnected the call and immediately dialed another number.

“Hello?” she heard his sleepy voice through the phone, obviously just waking up.

“JAKE! Get your ass up! Please? I need you to drive me to Forks!”

* * *

Jacob had her outside The Bookworm at 11:43 a.m. and Leah was currently trying to stop herself from hyper-ventilating. Leah could see Jake fumbling with his hands in attempt to comfort her and he kept repeating things like “You got this Lee!” and “They’d be crazy not to hire ya!”

She wishes he’d shut up, but considering he’s basically been her taxi driver the last few days she doesn’t say it out loud. Leah knows it’s just a small position at a local bookstore. There’s no reason for her to be this freaked out about a simple interview. But the truth is, this is the first thing Leah has done solely for herself in _years_ and facing the reality of not succeeding was terrifying.

“Okay bitch, get your shit together...” she mutters to herself, shaking Jacob’s hand where it was rubbing what was supposed to be comforting circles on her back, “You are a badass warrior she-wolf. Just show ’em that you can sell a damn book!”

Gathering her nerves, Leah gets out of the car, and heads into the lone building nestled in the center of forks. Books are displayed in the windows; she sees all of Austen’s collected work’s in the left window and the Harry Potter series brightly shining in the right. She barely acknowledges Jacob’s optimistic shout of “Good Luck, Leah!” as she walks into the shop.

A bell chimed as she walked in and Leah took in her surroundings. It was a quaint little store, inside was everything you would expect of bookstore. There were comfy looking nooks and armchairs littered around, soft lighting, and shelf after shelf stocked to the brim of literature, old and new. Leah felt instantly at home and wondered why she’d never been here before.

_Because my parents preferred that we do all our shopping on the Rez, that’s why._

“Hello, welcome to the Bookworm! Anything I can help ya with today?” bustling towards her was a woman who seemed to be in her late fifties-early sixties. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun and glasses were perched on the tip of her nose, just an inch from falling. With high cheek bones, deep chocolate complexion and earthy brown eyes, Leah not only found her beautiful but invitingly warm. She wore a floral print dress, black flat loafers and greeted her with a smile. Leah was instantly at ease.

“Hi, are you Florence?” she asks, extending her arm out to shake the older woman’s.

“Why yes I am, who’s askin’?”

“I spoke with you earlier on the phone? About the open job position?”

“Ooooh Yes! How are you dear?” Florence ushers Leah further into the shop, gesturing her to take a seat on one of the armchairs placed by the window. “Tell me, do you know much about books?”

* * *

Leah could barely contain her excitement. Grinning ear to ear, she rushed to the car to tell Jacob the good news.

* * *

He was a patient man. Existing for as long as he has made it prudent for him to learn how to be.

In every endeavor, he had learned to take his time, to cherish the moments between yearning for his prize and finally succeeding in coveting it.

The She-Wolf would be his, in time. He just had to be patient.

* * *

**Hello my lovelies! Thank you for the reviews that you guys are leaving, they make my heart happy. Sorry there was no update the last couple of weeks, I had family over** **** **I am hopefully back to a weekly update schedule but, you never know.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter; things are moving along nicely. I am excited to write more Carlisle/Leah scenes. She finds him weirdly attractive, since he’s a vamp and her mortal enemy. I wish we could take a dive into Carlisle’s head. Maybe sometime lol. What do you guys think?**

**Sorry for any grammar mistakes.**

**Happy holiday season!!**


	5. Old Ages and Book Pages

**Chapter 5- Old Ages and Book Pages**

She really needed to learn to think her decisions through more. She should have known that doing the “right thing” in offering the to take shifts for the kiddos was going to come back and bite her in the butt.

Leah was currently draped over the cash register counter at The Bookworm, physically and mentally exhausted. She had worked 3 back to back shifts at the little bookstore, 3 weeks into her new position as the new “Stocker/Cashier.” She was immensely grateful that Florence gave her the opportunity and she was happy to see Seth invested in school again, but that meant that Leah had not had more than 4 consecutive hours of sleep at a time in the last 2 weeks.

When she made the suggestion to Jacob and Sam to cut back on the kid’s hours, she thought that one of two things would happen. One, that other pack members (not just Embry and herself) would offer to take on more patrol hours. Or two, that Jake and Sam would both realize that the there was no immediate threat the required them to protect La Push 24/7.

_I should have known that Sam and Alpha-prime are too much into the “Saviors of La Push” bullshit to ever allow the pack some kind of break. Bitches._

Mulling over the perfect way to persuade Jake to force Quil into taking more hours, Leah almost misses the telltale jingle of bells over the door which signifies the entrance of another potential customer.

What Leah was not expecting to see today was the patriarch of the Cullen family waltzing into the bookstore, donning a brown leather jacket, looking for all the world like he just stepped out of a photoshoot for GQ magazine.

“Dr. Cullen! What are you doing here?” Leah exclaimed, her previous exhaustion masked by her primal instinct to shift, taken by surprise at his sudden presence.

“Miss Clearwater, I apologize, I did not mean to startle you. How are you today?” Carlisle asks her, coming towards the counter. “And I believe we had established that you were to call me Carlisle, did we not?”

“Huh? Oh, right. Carlisle. No, it’s okay, this is a public store, I just wasn’t expecting you, that’s all. Can I help you with anything?” Leah asked, leaning her elbow back onto the counter, her eyes following him as he walked around the stands holding some of today’s best-selling romances.

“I’m in need of new literature to occupy my nights. If only I could be at the hospital more without raising suspicion about my sleep schedule.”

“What, you mean to say you’ve been alive for a like a gazillion years and you haven’t read all the books under the sun?”

“I’ll have you know Miss Leah,” he starts cheekily, roaming closer to her counter with a book in hand, “that there are plenty of new things one can still discover, even if they are a ‘gazillion’ years old. Take this book here for example,” indicating to the book he laid down in front of her, “I have known of this particular book since its inception. However, I never felt the need to read it until now.”

“You expect me to believe that you never, not once, picked up Pride and Prejudice throughout your entire existence? Now that is a travesty.” Leah took the book from his hand and inspected its cover, desperate to keep her tone light. Ever since he came into the store her wolf was on alert, fighting with her human mind that was telling it to calm down. Carlisle wasn’t going to hurt them.

“Well, I’ve never been drawn to the romance genre before. Non-fiction is where my interest usually lie.”

“Well if you’re looking to broaden your interests and dive into fiction, I got just the book for you!” Leah jumps out from her perch behind the counter, desperate for something to do. As she scours one of the bookshelves, she can feel the leech doctors’ eyes following her. She finally grabs what she was looking for, hides it behind her back and makes her way back to Carlisle, who has a curious look on his face.

“Ta-da!” She exclaims, pulling the book out for him to take in. Carlisle swiftly examines it and lets out a hearty guffaw. It was a musical, infectious sound that had Leah joining in with him.

Taking _Dracula_ by Bram Stoker gingerly out of her hands, examining the hard covered classic, he says, “”If you could believe it, I actually have read this one.”

“Oh I believe it all right! After I first shifted, I spent months finding everything I could about werewolves and devouring pages of information, only to find out from the Royals that we’re actually shape-shifters. Pfft. Figures.” Leah added rolling her eyes. “You’d be surprised to find out how many smutty young adult books there are about them! The stuff I’ve read….” She trails off, shuddering in mock disgust. She would never admit to the dignified Doc that she actually read a couple of them.

“I can only imagine.” Carlisle says, looking at her with a weird look in his eyes. As if he’s trying to solve a complicated calculus problem.

“Sooooo… are you actually gonna get something? Not to be dramatic but I’m not quite sure how Florence keeps this place running with barely one purchase a day.”

“Hmm? Oh yes, I’ll take this,” he states, holding out the copy of _Dracula_ she gave him.

“Oh, I mean it was just a joke, you don’t hav-“

“I’m sure Leah. I haven’t re-read it in a while. I would love to know your opinion of the novel once I am done with it as well.”

Okay. A book club. With a vampire. Well, the ancestors already hate her. Might as well dive in deep. Plus, Doctor Carlisle is like the least leechy of all the leeches. Maybe it won’t count as much. Besides, who else is she supposed to have deep analytical conversations with about her favorite literature. Quil? As if.

“Sure. Why not? But you also have to read all the Austen books,” She implored him, ignoring his smile at her agreement, and went to grab the collected works of Jane Austen from the front of the shop. “I can’t have you living a thousand years a not even be _cultured._ I suggest _Emma_ first. It’s my favorite.”

“300.”

“What?” she asked, looking back at him.

“370 to be exact. I was turned in the year 1663. I believe I was 23 years of age at the time.”

_Whoa._

She made her way back to the counter and start checking out his books. Leah knew he was old, and while she would crack jokes, she wasn’t really expecting him to be more than 100 years old.

“Wow, you’ve lived through so much.” Leah didn’t mean to make her voice sound so awed, obviously her body was betraying her. She couldn’t help it, just thinking of all the things in history he got to witness first-hand.

“It’s interesting….” He starts, meeting her eyes and pausing.

“What is?” She urges him as he gives her his black Amex to pay.

“To have existed for so long but not really knowing what its like to _live_. Well, at least not until recently.” He grabs the bags Leah put his purchases in and said, “I look forward to discussing these with you soon, Leah.”

With that, he walks out the door, leaving her to ponder on what the hell just happened, and just why the _fuck_ is she so excited to discuss books with her so called mortal enemy.

**Thank you so much for reading/favoriting/and leaving reviews! It’s been a couple months, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know your thoughts!**

**Ugh they are soooo cute! I love writing for Leah and Carlisle so much.**


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